What does a heat spreader do?

[WakaBam46]

Hi, guys just wondering what a heat spreader does, does the height of it matter, and whether one of these 3 is the better choice. I plan on buying another 8 gigs later but right now I just want to get started with one stick.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/corsair-memory-cml8gx3m1a1600c10b%2Ccorsair-memory-cmz8gx3m1a1600c10b%2Cgskill-memory-f31600c9s8gxm/

Thanks for the replies

 

[Tradesman1]

It takes in heat from the DRAM and disperses it to help keep the DRAM cooler....they also generally look good DRAM doesn't generally generate a lot of heat.

 

[WakaBam46]

Does having a higher heat spreader work better or is it more for looks?

 

[bob hays]

It's more for looks than actual functionality

 

[Tradesman1]

Depends, the Tridents have a removable top fin, when removed the sticks often run a degree or two warmer

 

[WakaBam46]

So of these three I mentioned which one should I go for?

 

[Tradesman1]

Of those I'd go the Ripjaws, in addition to having good OC headroom, they come in with the lowest CL of the 3 at CL9, so better performance wise

 

[WakaBam46]

Sorry for sounding like a noob but whats CL and how would it affect performance?

 

[bob hays]

its latency, kind of like ping in internet speed. The speed maybe 100 MB/s but if the ping is too high then gaming will suck, basically lower the latency the better.

 

[Tradesman1]

Basically how long to perform an action, lower is better